Reviews by KYBrewgrass:

A- 3.5 Pours a dark, hazy (muddied) amber and caramel color that is just able to be seen through. There's a minimal, 1/4" khaki head that dissipates pretty quickly and doesn't want to return. There's light, dispersed lacing.

S- 4.5 Raisin bread comes to mind initially. There is a strong dark fruit (raisin) aroma that is coupled with sweet malts (maybe brown sugar-as in candied nuts). I also get a bit of the yeast.

T- 4 A sweet combination of fruit and malt hits me first. I again get raisin and a little caramel. There is a strong malt presence in its aftertaste and it is pretty dry. The alcohol is pretty well hidden.

M- 4.5 I'd describe its body as medium-full (its bottle says full). No matter, it is very smooth and fills the mouth well yet isn't overly heavy. Great carbonation level.

D- 4 1845 is a very good ale and it's clear to me why it's been around so long. It is a bit maltier/sweeter in taste than I'd ultimately prefer (though I do like its aroma), but is still quite flavorful and enjoyable. Though it is on the heavy side of the scale, it isn't so much that I couldn't enjoy a couple of these (.5L bottles) in a sitting. There's ample balance in its fruit/malt/bread-like blend. I'd recommend trying this one.

More User Reviews:

Pours a medium brown with a light orange hint,awesome aromas of brown sugar and orange big and expressive for sure.Taste is rich and complex even more so as it warms more towards room temp great malt tilted beer I get big brown sugar and nutty flavors and a long fruity finish with a yeasty note.A great beer to savor,man Fullers make some truley great ales!

Appearance  This thing is just gorgeous. The body is dark brown with some nice orange highlights and the huge, tanned head just wouldnt go away. It left some awesome Belgian lacing on the inside of my glass.

Smell  Yes, the rank nose typical of the style is there. I can pick up those sharp malts along with a very sticky sweetness. The sugars are caramel, toffee, and rich. Theres a toastiness to these malts that play well, too.

Taste  Oh, this is good. Arrogant Bastard meets huge jar of table sugar. This beer is very sweet yet still has a wonderfully mature malt backbone and some nice balance with the hops. The cane and molasses are especially prominent.

Mouthfeel  A bit bigger than medium-bodied and very sharp. This is a heavy-hitter for sure. It is also one of the smoothest big beers that Ive ever had. It handles it size very well.

Drinkability  You can sip this or chug this just the same. This is an incredible, unbelievable ale.

Update  I reviewed this in 2004 and drink it periodically, so thought Id set down with a 2006 vintage and give it another go with paper and pen.

To me this is the standard of the ESA style. Its a thing of beauty to see, smells like an amped up English Bitter, adds some complex fruiting and alcohol to the taste, big in the mouth but not heavy, and goes down smooth as silk. A winner in all categories!

A: Deep ruby body, off white head with a few color variations. big bubbles scattered throughout an otherwise fine (tiny) bubble head.

S: rich malt, some ripe fruit qualities, husk, light hops

T/M: just as the nose predicts, big malt up front, a little sugar, not too carmelized. a rustic hop bitter pulls through on the back of the tongue and continues to grow. some of the ripe fruit comes through, with a little bit of bubble gum. finishes dry and leafy. creamy mouthfeel, great carbo level, well done.

D: awesome. tasty brew, well balanced, very affordable. a great and versatile brew to just have hanging in the fridge.

A- This is an exceptional ale pours a dark red amber with fluffy white head with a wonderful lace retention. Very strong appearance for an ale.

S- Smells of coffee, carmel malts, earthy hops and yeast. There is definitly a bottle conditioning smell of lingering ingredents.

T- An almost stout flavor with every dark taste you can imagine. Wonderous carmel malt with a heavy kick of coffee and earthy hops.

M-D- Very dry at first making it easy to swallow, with a lingering effect on the palate in a good way. I could have one on the special occation or get hammered in a English bar very univeral taste. Excellent!

The 1845 poured a copper-red with a thick, creamy, light-tan head that retained well with decent lacing. It has a yeasty, biscuit aroma with some fruitiness and some sherry-like alcohol notes. It's taste was initially toasted malt and caramel with some fruitiness, and then a late crisp, slighty bitter finish. It was pretty full-bodied and went down really smooth. Overall, the 1845 is a good beer, but I was expecting more.

Frothy eggshell head- nice and bubblebathy, amber colored with beading. No retention though. Stuck to the sides of the glass mainly, with a slight covering on the top. Very light arona, not much coming out at you. Slight scents of yeast. Nice smooth feeling. Medium bodied, maybe a tad more... Makes me think of a porter with it's body and flavors. Coffee and a bit of chocolate, hops, bit of red wine. Just good. Decent drinkability. Not much intensity of flavor or too heavy, good stuff.

Foamy with a light beige lace that sticks to the glass quite well. Mild chill haze goes away as soon as the ale comes to cellar temperature. This sample was cellar for a year or so and seems to have held up very well.

Fruity, ester and musty yeast aroma. A touch of grain and hops in the back of the nose.

Medium to full in body with a lush mouth feel that is just as crisp as it is smooth. Bursting malt and juicy fruit, hop bitterness is solid and flexes with a sharpness and woody flavour. Malt is pretty thick with hints of bread crust and toasted grain. Lots of fruitiness with a think yeasty back. Esters are apparent with a warming alcohol in tow. Hint of buttery diacetyl. Finishes with a big lingering yeast, hop and ester bite.

My oh my, this is a lively ale to be had. A killer brew with expressive and complex flavours flailing everywhere. A brew I go back to more than others.

Big, brown bottle with "best before 19/July/05" stamped on the label. Sampled on 24/October/04.
Pours into a Fuller's pint glass a clear, copper body with a one finger beige head that retains well before fading into generous patches and rings of lace.
Aroma has butterscotch and toffee, with an assertive and unusual hoppiness that seems herbal, spicy, floral and earthy. I've never enountered this type of hoppiness before, but it balances the strong malt backbone very well.
Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, and well carbonated.
Taste features a toffee and butterscotch malt backbone that is reined in by the profound, hops bitterness. Buttery diacetyl notes are picked up, as well. The finish is even, with a bitter aftertaste that seems herbally hoppy, almost as if hemp is an ingredient.
This is an excellent, strong English ale, and the alcohol is hidden in the malt/hop complexity. I was surprised by the assertive hops in this one, but it comes off well balanced. An excellent pairing for Stilton blue cheese.

Poured this beer into a pint glass.It had about a 1 inch thick off white,towards the tan side.It was a medeium coppery color,very cloudy.It had a silghtly woody smell,fruity,sweet smell.It had a medium mouthfeel,fruity.slight wine-like taste,dry tart finish.Reminded my of Samuel Smith,somewhat.The head lasted to the end,on the filling side couldn't drink a lot of these, but very enjoyable.

L: Brilliant copper amber pour generates a 1” light tan foam collar that hugs the side of the glass.
S: Big malt and nutty aromas blended with dark sugars with hints of fruit cake. A rich complex malt character comes forward in the nose seasoned with earthy hops that suggest fresh cut wood.
T: a slightly sweet palate developes a full malt character with nuts, light toast and biscuit drying out on the finish with a big bitter hop emphasis. Has a long dry earthy malty aftertaste.
F: Full creamy palateis very soft in the mouth with a little crispness on the finish.
O: In this beer Fuller’s gives a lesson in how to develop rich malt character.